Frosty!

I bought this Frosty the Snowman when Andrew was just 3 months old. I have taken Andrew, Braden, and Colton's picture with it each year. It was to show how much they have grown! I don't have to say much... Andrew and Frosty used to be the same size! Why do they have to grow up so fast? When I ask the boys who told them they could grow up... they always say, "God." I guess it is ok then since His ways are better than ours... :)

An Unexpected Trip to MO!

Just as we were coming down from the holidays... not even having all the Christmas decorations down yet... we got a call from Tom's Mom telling us the Tom's Grandma had passed away. Thankfully it worked out that all 5 of us could fly to MO to be with the family. We were so thankful for our last visit to see Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Ermeling last summer where the boys turned an ordinary cup of lemonade and a candy wrapper into a fun game and Great Grandma even got onto Great Grandpa for giving the candy to the boys. It was a good visit! We will miss you so much Great Grandma! Thanks for giving us the unexpected blessing of time with family in MO! We'll see you in paradise... Hope you are getting all the hugs that the boys keep praying for God to give you!

Visiting with the extended family and seeing all sorts of people we hadn't seen in a long time was wonderful. The boys got to spend time with Opa, Mincy, and GG while Tom and I were at the visitation. Thanks for taking good care of the boys! :) We also had a nice evening at Pios with Gramby, Pa Pa, Uncle Tim, Aunt Tammy, Uncle Big Tom, Aunt Cassie, Uncle Matt, and Griffin. We ate SO much good food as you can imagine under the circumstances. Colton and I stayed in MO a couple extra days and enjoyed time with Nana, Aunt Cassie, Uncle Matt, and another visit with Opa and GG. It was great to just spend unhurried time together.

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." John 14:1-4

And then she fell...

We were SO excited to have Nana come for New Years! We all eagerly picked her up from the airport and then headed home for a little Christmas celebration! Then it was off to Galveston for dinner at Salsas and then to Moody Gardens for the Festival of Lights! How fun to be together and laugh and eat good food and look at the beautiful lights... and then she fell... Yes, my Mom (aka. Nana) took a fall at the Festival of Lights and broke her arm and sprained her ankle. She and I spent most of New Year's Eve in the ER and made it home 20 min. before the ball dropped! Thankfully Andrew, Braden, and Tom were still up to help us celebrate. Anyway, Mom and I are famous for planning a million things to do in each of her visits and we had a list a mile long for this visit too. We were even going to be spontaneous and head to San Antonio for a long weekend. Instead, God, had other plans. We spent the week... together. We took time to watch movies, play with the kids, have long talks, cook together, etc... It gave me a chance to bless my Mom by taking care of her! We did manage to go back down to Galveston to eat at Rainforest Cafe and get a Volcano! and look for shells on the beach. Nana also treated the boys to Build-a-Bear at the Rainforest Cafe! Although the week DID NOT go as planned and was NOTHING we expected, we were so happy for her visit and can't for her to come back! :) We love you, Nana!

A Leimkuehler Family Christmas!

We were so blessed this year to have Tom's whole family come to Houston for Christmas! We had a ball being together, playing outside in the mild TX winter, going to the beach in Galveston and walking on the Jetty, hunting for shells, playing the Wii (bowling especially), PS2 Batman, cooking, eating, opening gifts, eating at the Rainforest Cafe, taking Hugo out for Mexican (and he liked it!), taking up a whole row at church, more cooking and eating, the cousins making Reindeer Cookies and everyone else enjoying them, eating the endless plate of fudge, cookies, peanut brittle, etc..., going ice skating at Discovery Green, all the boys hitting the lanes for a few games of bowling, sports on TV, conversation, etc... It was so great to have all 13 of us under one roof!

Thank you, God, for the blessing of time together with those we love.

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." 1 Chronicles 16:34

Christmas Morning...

Christmas morning came early since Tom and I are not morning people. Andrew was awake and excited, but stayed in his room as instructed. :) We had to wake up Braden (which we never do, he is usually our early bird) and Colton. Then we took the traditional pic on the stairs and sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus before they headed downstairs to see what Santa had brought them. Andrew got lots of Pokemon cards, Braden and Colton got their Havoc Hellis (remote control helicopters)! Lots more gifts and fun opening presents was had before we had to clean up and get ready to pick up Gramby, Pa Pa, Aunt Tammy and Uncle Big Tom from the airport. A crazy, but wonderful Christmas morning. We were so happy to be at our own home this year! :)

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Twas the day before Christmas and Mommy tried real hard to get everything done, but she still had much to do to get ready for Christmas day and lots of family coming... But she took a break anyway and watched "Space Chimps" with the family and headed off to Christmas Eve service at Church and then to some good friends, The Swiggards, house for Christmas soup, lots of yummies, gifts, and fun!

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Luke 2:8-12

Braden's Pokemon Party!